One might say that eight to twelve hats, costing $25 to $50 apiece, was a fair average, though $800 to $1200 worth is not so rare as to cause a panic at the customhouse.
The comparative amounts which men and women spend affords an interesting comment on the relative importance which men and women attach to clothes.

In one case of which I happen to know Mr.A.
brought in $840 worth of wearing apparel: Mrs.A.nearly $10,000 worth, of which $7000 was for gowns.

A man may have eight to ten suits of pajamas which cost him $10 apiece, a dozen or two waistcoats, a dozen or two shirts, a few dozen handkerchiefs and gloves, a dozen or so ties, eight or ten suits of clothes, but from $500 to $1000 will cover his wardrobe; his wife will often spend as much for hats alone as he does for an entire outfit! The difficulty in these great expenditures is that they set a pace.

To many women of wealth they are no doubt revolting.

They recognize that there are only two classes of women who can justify them--the actress and the demi-mondaine.